£2.4 million green bus funding announced

Department for Transport announces £2.4 million to fund 55 new low emission buses with the aim of improving air quality

£2.4 million of additional funding is being made available through the Green Bus Fund to help fund 55 new green buses in a bid to improve air quality in the UK, the Department for Transport (DfT) has announced.

The money will allow bus companies and local authorities in Manchester, Oxfordshire, York and Sunderland to buy electric, hybrid and biomethane gas-powered buses.

Funding has been awarded to eight councils through the Clean Bus Technology Fund

And, more than £1 million will also be used to retro-fit dozens more buses in parts of Kent, South Yorkshire, West Midlands, Buckinghamshire and York with exhaust emissions reduction technology.

The retro-fit money will be allocated through the Clean Bus Technology Fund, from which £5 million was previously awarded in August 2013 to help cut emissions from nearly 400 buses (see airqualitynews.com).

Funding

The funding was announced by transport minister Norman Baker at the industry event Coach and Bus Live yesterday (October 2).

Speaking at the event, the minister said: “This money will improve air quality in towns and cities across England and cut carbon, which is good for all of us wherever we live.

“Schemes like these are a cost-effective way of landing real benefits for the public and the environment. Cleaner, more efficient bus services are good for the economy and for the environment — it’s a win-win.”

The following towns, cities, districts and counties will benefit from the new funding:

• Manchester — 23 new green buses
• Sunderland — 23 new green buses
• York — 7 new green buses and a pilot scheme to convert a diesel bus to electric propulsion
• Oxfordshire — 2 new buses
• Sheffield — conversion of 5 buses to run on natural gas
• West Midlands — 29 buses with exhaust gas treatment
• Chiltern District — 5 buses with exhaust gas treatment
• Swale Borough — 5 buses with exhaust gas treatment

The latest funding follows the DfT’s announcement of the winning bidders to the £12 million Green Bus Fund in May (see airqualitynews.com story).